Growth II
by CheerfulChemist
Summary: This story picks up about a week after Growth. The universe is the same. Pi is dead. It is late fall. Is Alexis pregnant? If you haven't read Growth, you might want to do that first. You can find me on twitter @CheerfulChemist
1. Chapter 1

Growth II

The loft was silent. Outside an early snow fell, slowing the traffic and damping the sound. Castle lay quietly, arms around Beckett, breathing the scent of her hair and feeling the warmth of her back against his chest. He could have spent the morning holding her, but a siren screamed in the distance, bringing her to instant awareness. Pulling on a shirt that Castle had discarded the night before, Beckett went to the windows in the great room. Wearing his boxers, Castle came up behind her. "What do you see?" he asked.

"Nothing," Beckett answered. "Maybe the snow caused a pileup somewhere."

"Probably," Castle replied. "An inch of snow and this city comes to a screeching halt. We could take advantage of that," Castle suggested, kissing the hollow where her neck met her shoulder. "Come back to bed."

"I'm awake now, Castle," she told him.

"You want to wake me up too?" he asked.

"Well, I'll do my best, Castle," Beckett said leading him back to the bedroom. Beckett left Castle sitting on the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Castle could hear water running and Beckett returned with wet hands, beginning to trace patterns in water on Castle's bare chest.

Castle pulled back. "Cold!"

"Up now? Castle" Becket asked, stroking cold fingers down his arms and back.

"Completely, and ready for breakfast." Castle replied as he began nibbling on her shoulder.

Beckett pressed against him as he continued his feast moving down her body, until unable to be still, she pushed his head up and covered his mouth with hers. Castle pulled her tightly against his body, but it was not enough. They fought to draw closer and closer until the inevitable ravenous joining, when they fed on each other until they lay sated, hands clasped, side by side.

They were roused by Beckett's cell. There was a body.

She lay with the red of her blood staining the surrounding snow, snowflakes coating her brows and lashes. She wore a business suit, off the rack but high end. Her shoes were low heeled but of good leather and matched the purse at her side.

Lanie Parrish knelt by the body. "What have we got?" Beckett asked her.

"She had her throat cut, a single cut from behind severed the jugular. It's harder to tell in this weather, but it looks like she died some time last night, but not here. There's not enough blood for that kind of wound. She was killed somewhere else and dumped."

Esposito walked up and continued the narration. "According to her I.D. Her name is Margaret Burns. She works for someplace called Up."

"I know them," Castle said. "They're a non-profit that works with the developmentally disabled. I've been to a couple of their fundraisers."

Beckett looked at Ryan who stood next to Esposito. "Ryan, see what kind of video you can come up with. Do we have a next of kin?" Esposito shook his head. "OK Espo, let's find one. Castle and I will check out Up."

The offices of Up didn't open until 9 A.M., so Castle and Beckett sat in a Java Hut with their hands curled around warm lattes. "Mmmm," Castle sighed, "I needed this."

"It is good," Beckett agreed. "sometime I miss having you arrive with my coffee."

"If that's what you want," Castle said, "I can bring it to you in bed. You know how I feel about foamy richness in the morning."

Beckett rolled her eyes but laughed, "Yes Castle, I do."

Up was in a modest office in a glass and steel office building above a bank. As Castle and Beckett approached the reception desk, the middle aged woman behind it looked up and smiled, "Mr. Castle, nice to see you. "

"It's nice to see you too, Felicity, but this isn't a social call. This is Detective Beckett. We need to ask you some questions."

"Ms..." Beckett began.

"Bergan," Felicity filled in.

"Ms. Bergan. I need some information about Margaret Burns."

"Maggie? What's the matter? I can't imagine her doing anything wrong."

"She hasn't, Ms Bergan, but we do need to get in touch with her family. Would you have emergency contact information for her."

Felicity eyes filled with concern. "Mr. Castle, you work with homicide. Is Maggie dead?"

"Ms. Bergan," Beckett told her. "This is an ongoing investigation, I can't comment right now, but I do need that information if you have it."

"Please Felicity," Castle said.

Felicity nodded. "Of course."

Felicity brought up Margaret Burns' file on the computer. "Maggie has a sister, Vera Mortisse. I'll print out her contact information for you."

Beckett called Esposito to let him know that she had next of kin for Maggie Burns and asked him to look into Maggie's financials. Castle and Beckett went to see Vera Mortisse.

Vera lived in a tiny row house in Brooklyn. Beckett knocked on the door, showed her badge and asked if she and Castle could come in. With the empathy uniquely Beckett, Kate broke the news of Maggie's death.

"Ms. Mortisse," Beckett asked. "I know that it's hard, but can you think of anyone who would want to harm your sister?"

Vera swiped at her eyes. Castle reached for a nearby box of tissues and handed it to her. "No," Vera told her. "Oh my God! Does Roger know?"

"Who's Roger?" Beckett asked.

"Roger Donnegan, her fiance."

"Do you have an address?" Beckett asked.

Vera nodded. "I'll get it for you.

"You're very quiet," Beckett told Castle on the way to Roger Donnegan's address in Manhattan.

"I'm thinking about Roger Donnegan," Castle said. "I'm thinking about how I'd feel if something happened to you, how I did feel when I thought you'd died. It's going to be rough for him."

Beckett reached out and squeezed Castle's hand.

Roger Donnegan lived in a loft in Soho, not far from Castle. "Castle are you sure you what to do this?" Beckett asked. "I could just drop you at home."

"I'm your partner," Castle said. "It's a little late to start quitting when the going gets tough."

Roger Donnegan sat with his head in his hands while Castle brought him a glass of water.

"Mr. Donnegan," Beckett asked," are you up to answering a few questions?"

Roger took a sobbing breath. "Whatever I can do to help."

"Is there anyone you know of who might want to hurt Maggie?"

"I don't know," Roger told her. "She was an accountant for Up. In the last couple of weeks she told me that she found some discrepancies. She was looking into it."

"Thank you, Mr. Donnegan," Beckett said.

As Beckett and Castle returned to the car Castle asked "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to do some research on Up," Beckett told him.

"Can you drop me at the loft now? Alexis is coming for dinner tonight and I want to get things started."

"Oh yeah," Beckett said. "Sure, what time is she coming?"

"About six."

"OK, I'll drop you off now and see you later."

Castle started enthusiastically to prepare dinner. It would be the first one since Alexis had returned to her apartment and he wanted it to be special. The star of the dinner would be a chocolate ice cream pie with an Oreo crust that, even with Castle's sub-zero freezer, would take some time to set. Castle got it put together and sliced the mounds of fresh vegetables for pasta primavera.

Beckett came through the door of the loft at about ten minutes before six, just before Alexis. Martha showed up just in time to have a glass of wine before dinner.

Alexis picked at her food. "Something wrong with the pasta?" Castle asked. "Alexis gave him a weak smile. "It's great Dad, I was just out with my friends earlier and we had munchies."

When the pie came out, Alexis asked for a very thin slice and in the middle of eating it sweat broke out on her face and she ran for the bathroom. Castle started to follow, but Martha put a hand on his arm. "I'll do it," she said.

Martha held Alexis' hair back as she was sick, and handed her a glass of water when she finished. "Alexis," she said, "is there something we should know?"

"Gram, its probably just the 24 hour flu. A bunch of kids at school have had it."

Martha nodded. "If you're sure."

"Richard," Martha said as she and Alexis returned. "I'm going to take Alexis home."

"Are you all right?" Castle asked Alexis.

"I'll be fine, Dad, I just need some sleep."

"OK," Castle said. "Feel better."

Castle and Beckett cleaned up while Martha was gone. When she came back to the loft, Martha told them that Alexis seemed to be fine, but that Buttons Dutton was with her in case she needed anything.

With Martha in her room going over a script, Castle lay on the couch with his head in Beckett's lap while she stroked his hair. "You're worried about Alexis," Beckett said.

"Are you going to tell me not to worry?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett said. "It's part of who you are. That's one of the things that attracted me to you."

"Do you know what attracted me to you?" Castle asked.

"What?" Beckett asked.

Castle reached up and brought her lips to his. "Everything."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Beckett opened her eyes to see Castle sitting up against the backboard and staring at the wall. She pulled herself up beside him, gently massaging his shoulder. "Alexis?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, "but also Up. I really believe in the work that they do there. I'd hate to think anything was going on."

"Tell me about it," Beckett told him.

"The law in this country says that children with disabilities are entitled to a free and appropriate education. But the law isn't always enforced. Sometimes parents need to fight for their kids and often they don't know how. Also appropriate doesn't always mean best, and a lot of kids do better if they can find resources outside of school. Up helps with all of that. It helps parents learn what their children's rights are. It advocates, finds, and funds extra resources. Up just helps the kids have their best chance at making it life."

Beckett brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead while he was speaking. "I can see why that would appeal to you," she said. "You've always been a sucker for giving people a chance, like the nurse who broke his girlfriend out of jail."

"Well, I'm not the only one, Castle replied. You've given me plenty of chances."

"That, Mr. Castle," Beckett purred as she slipped her hands under his t-shirt, "is my pleasure."

Castle pulled down the corner of her sleep shirt, "Detective Beckett, I think it's going to be my pleasure too."

Hands explored under clothing until the clothing was pulled away and hands were replaced by ever more hungry mouths. Pleasure grew as taste and touch became intoxicating. They drew more and more from each other to reach a peak, until topping it they were replete in each others' arms.

The alarm on Beckett's phone buzzed. Untangling herself, she reached out to turn it off. "C'mon Castle," she said. "Rise and shine."

"I thought we just did," Castle quipped.

Beckett sighed and shook her head. "I mean its time to get up."

Castle gave her a lopsided grin, "You're making this too easy."

Beckett gave him a gentle punch in the chest. "All right Castle, let's go."

They showered and dressed quickly before seeking the life-giving energy of coffee in the kitchen, which was empty. Martha was sleeping late in preparation for a student showcase scheduled to go late. Castle started the lattes while Beckett poured juice. Castle made an omelet with vegetables left from the previous night and they were on their way to the 12th.

Under the sunshine laws for non-profits, Beckett was able to pull financial statements for Up. "Look, Castle," she said. "There's been a steady decrease in reported contributions during the last few months. They're barely scraping by."

"That is strange" Castle told her. "We did a casino night fundraiser just a couple of months ago. The place was packed. I was told Up raised a bundle. I wonder where it went?"

"That might have been what Maggie was wondering too," Beckett mused. "It might have gotten her killed. We need to go back to Up."

Felicity was at the desk at Up again when Castle and Beckett arrived. "Felicity," Castle told her, "we need to have a look at Maggie's office."

"Maggie isn't here and you really should ask her," Felicity told him doubtfully.

"Felicity," Castle said gently, "Maggie Burns is dead. This is a murder investigation. I'm sorry we couldn't tell you yesterday, but Detective Beckett had to notify her sister first."

Felicity paled, but nodded her head. "I understand."

Maggie Burns had a modest office with several large filing cabinets. Beckett and Castle started to go through the files. "Most of these date back years," Castle said. "The revenues were dropping over the last few months. We should find the most recent files."

"I've been looking for those, Castle" Beckett told him. "I haven't found any. Have you?"

"No," Castle answered. "Maybe she took them home."

"We can go back to the precinct and pick up her keys," Beckett suggested. "We can check and see what Ryan and Esposito have come up with on traffic and financials while we're there."

"I've got nothing useful," Ryan reported. "There was a view of cars coming in and out of the area, but without knowing what to look for, there's not much I can do with that right now."

"Maggie Burns' financials and credit cards look pretty normal," Esposito added, "But Lanie just called. She's got something."

"We'll stop by the morgue on our way to Maggie's apartment," Beckett said. "C'mon Castle."

"What have you got, Lanie?" Beckett asked as she and Castle arrived in the M.E.'s territory.

"Your victim was killed the night before you found her. The reason there was blood on the snow is that she had hemophilia."

"I though boys got that," Castle said.

"That's usually the case," Lanie told him, "but very rarely a girl will have the gene on both X chromosomes and have the disorder. There's more, it looks like she hadn't had her clotting factor, and she was pregnant."

"I wonder if Donnegan knew," Castle mused.

"That is a very good question," Beckett said.

With Castle behind her, Beckett used Maggie Burns' keys to get into her apartment in the West Nineties. After one quick look, she pushed Castle back out the door and closed it. "Castle," I think we've found where the murder took place."

Beckett called uniforms to secure the scene as well as CSU, Lanie, and Ryan and Esposito. It looked like a massacre had taken place. Blood was everywhere. Other than that, there were no signs of a struggle. "It doesn't look like she put up a fight," Castle said.

"She was killed from behind," Lanie said. "Someone took her by surprise."

"She knew her killer!" Castle and Beckett exclaimed at the same time.

Lanie smiled at them and shook her head. "You two are so cute!"

Carefully gloved, Beckett and Castle, with help from Ryan and Esposito, searched the apartment for files. Ryan found several files under the mattress which were tagged as evidence and transported back to the 12th. Beckett set up the murder board and she, Castle, Ryan, and Esposito gathered around the table in the conference room to go over the files from Maggie Burns' apartment.

"Look at this," Castle said "there was a lot of money paid out to a vendor, Awaken Institute. Maggie highlighted it."

"Have you heard of it before, Castle?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle said. "Up never mentioned it at donor presentations."

"We'll check Awaken out," Beckett said, "but it's late. Let's look at it in the morning."

Ryan was the first one up from the table. "Jenny gets nervous when I get home too late these days," he explained. Castle gave him a knowing smile.

At the loft, Beckett and Castle scrounged leftover pasta primavera for dinner. "There was way to much of this left over," Castle told her.

"You want to call Alexis, Castle?"

Castle sighed and shook his head. "No, she doesn't want me to interfere with her independence. She'd just get mad."

Beckett massaged Castle's shoulders and pressed a kiss to his temple. "Don't worry, Castle, she won't be in a rebellious stage forever."

"No," Castle grumbled. "it will just seem forever."

Beckett pulled Castle to his feet and played with his collar, "Then it looks like I'm going to have to distract you.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Beckett lightly stroked Castle's jaw with her fingertip. "Castle are you awake?"

Castle groaned and pushed her hand away.

"What's the matter Castle?" Beckett asked.

Castle put his forearm over his eyes. "Headache."

"Are you kidding me, Castle, that old excuse?" Beckett teased, running her fingers through the hair falling on his forehead. Feeling the heat on her hand, she laid her palm against his face. "Castle, you have a fever," she said.

"Great!" Castle said. "I must have caught what Alexis had."

"Just relax, I'll get you a couple of ibuprofen."

Beckett brought Castle a glass of water and a couple of pills, took a shower, got dressed,

made coffee, and filled a traveling mug. Before she left for the 12th she sat beside Castle on the bed.

"You're leaving me like this?" Castle asked.

"Castle, I'm going to check out Awake. Martha's here. I'll call later and check on you."

"Fine, Castle grunted, turning away into his pillow.

Beckett drove to the address given for Awake. It was a small dingy office in a large building and it was locked up tight. She hunted down the rental agent for the building, Oscar Garcia.

"Awake Institute," Garcia said, "that's funny! They had a desk and a phone. Anyway, they moved out a couple of days ago."

"Did they leave a forwarding address?"

"Nothing, Just asked for the security deposit back and left."

"How did you pay them the security deposit?"

"Check. I have a copy of it. I can make you one."

Beckett smiled. "Thank you very much, Mr. Garcia."

Before going to the 12th, Beckett called Castle. Martha answered and told her that Castle was sleeping.

"Esposito," Beckett called coming into the bullpen, "think you can find out where this check ended up?" Beckett handed Esposito the copy that Garcia had handed her.

"On it," Esposito answered.

"Beckett, I think I've got something," Ryan called. "I checked the traffic around Maggie Burns' apartment. Showing Beckett a picture on the screen, Ryan told Beckett," This car was driving away during our kill zone. It's registered to a David Morgan. Guess who he works for?"

"Up?" Beckett answered.

"Bingo," Ryan answered. "Hey, where's Castle?"

"He wasn't feeling well this morning. I left him at the loft with Martha."

"Home with his mother, huh," Esposito put in. "That should give him a reason to get better in self defense."

"I hope so," Beckett said. "Ryan, Morgan's your catch. You want to go see him?"

"With you, boss," Ryan answered.

David Morgan was a sweaty man with a bad comb-over and the CFO of Up. He invited Beckett and Ryan to sit in his office. "Mr. Morgan, did you know Maggie Burns?"

"Of course I did," Morgan answered. "she was our accountant."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

"I'm not sure."

"Your car was seen leaving the area of her apartment, the night she was killed," Beckett told him.

"I was there," Morgan told her, "but I never saw Maggie. She called and said she had something to show me, but when I knocked on her door, she didn't answer. Her cell phone went to voice mail, so I left."

"Do you have any idea what she wanted to talk about?"

"She said something about a phoney vendor, but didn't want to talk about it until she saw me. I really don't know anything about it."

Beckett stood and Ryan followed her lead. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Morgan. If you think of anything else, please call me." Beckett handed him her card and she and Ryan left.

"What do you think?" Ryan asked as they drove back to the 12th.

"Either Morgan is lying or he's a really incompetent CFO," Beckett said.

Ryan nodded.

When she got to the 12th, Beckett called the loft again. Martha picked up the phone and told Beckett that Castle's fever was down and he was complaining about everything.

Beckett smiled. "Let me talk to him."

Martha brought Castle the phone. "How are you doing, Castle?" Beckett asked.

"My head hurts, my stomach hurts, and I miss you. When are you coming home?"

"Soon, Castle. I'll bring you some chicken soup."

'How's he doing?" Ryan asked.

"Complaining, probably a good sign. I'm going to the loft for a while, can you check out David Morgan and ask Espo to call me if he traces that check?"

"Will do," Ryan told her.

Beckett stopped at a soup place featured on an old sitcom on her way back to the loft. She put some soup and some crackers on a tray and brought them into the bedroom. Castle' s eyes were closed, but when she felt his forehead, his skin was cool.

Beckett found herself looking into twin sapphires on slightly red backgrounds. "Hi," Castle said.

"Hi yourself, Castle. Want some soup?"

"Share it with me?" Castle asked.

"OK," Beckett agreed. "I'll get another spoon."

"We can share that one," Castle said.

"Castle, I don't want to catch whatever you have."

"After last night's distraction, if you're going to, it's probably too late."

"You're probably right," Beckett agreed. "Sit up."

Castle pulled himself up and Beckett laid the tray across his lap. She dipped a spoon into the soup and put it into his mouth. Castle took the spoon from her and returned the favor. They fed each other bits of cracker, scattering crumbs across the sheets.

"We're making a mess, Castle," Beckett said brushing at the crumbs.

"You would kick me out of bed for eating crackers?" Castle quipped.

Beckett kissed the savory saltiness of the soup and crackers off his lips. "Never."

Beckett's cell phone buzzed. Esposito told her that he had traced the check to an account at Mercy Bank and was about to get a warrant. "I'll meet you there," Beckett told him.

Beckett leaned down to give Castle a fast kiss, but with hands on either side of her head, Castle made it deeper. "Come back soon," Castle told her.

Beckett smiled and flipped her hair as she left.

Beckett and Esposito talked to the manager at Mercy Bank. He was able to tell her that Awake had an account that had been opened online, but the check for the security deposit had been cashed in person. He arranged to e-mail the video from the afternoon of the transaction by the following morning.

Beckett and Esposito went back to the 12th and checked in with Ryan, who had been researching Dave Morgan's financials. The three of them gathered around the table in the conference room and distributed the printouts.

"This guy is really skating on the edge," Ryan said. "He puts out a lot of money to doctors and therapy programs. His cards are practically maxed out and he's mortgaged to the hilt. I don't see any unexpected money coming in though."

"He may be getting it in cash and hiding it somewhere," Beckett said. "I don't think we're going to get anything else until we get the video from the bank. Let's call it a day."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Ryan told her. "Tell Castle I hope he feels better."

Beckett let herself into the loft to find Castle in his robe on the couch watching a zombie movie. "You are feeling better," she said.

"I had a great nurse," Castle said, "and I don't mean my mother."

Beckett ran her finger over the skin peeking through the skin on his robe. "I thought you liked naughty nurses, Castle."

"Why Nurse Beckett, whatever do you have in mind?"

Beckett grabbed the ends of the sash of Castle's robe to lead him into the bedroom. "Mr. Castle, I'm going to nurse you back to health."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Beckett opened her eyes to find that she was staring straight into Castle's. "Good morning," she said, "what's on your mind?"

"Hungry," Castle told her.

"Well you didn't eat much, yesterday," Beckett replied.

Castle nibbled the lobe of her ear. "I didn't mean food." As Castle's lips descended, Beckett raised her head to meet him. Castle tasted her lips and sucked the earthy essence from her mouth. Seeking more, he tasted chin and jaw down the length of her neck to the cleft in her breasts and the scar, worshiping it with featherlight touches of his mouth. Beckett writhed under him, pushing against his body, needing more and more contact. She could feel the pressure building, too much, but not enough.

Suddenly Castle rolled so that she was above him. She pulled away anything that kept him from her and he pulled her barriers aside as well. She joined with him as they moved together, touching and kissing everything they could reach as Beckett felt the arousal growing deep inside, pushing upward and outward, until they shared the inevitable sweet explosion. Boneless, Beckett lay on Castle, resting her cheek against his broad chest.

"Castle," Beckett murmured, "I don't think I can move."

Castle stroked her hair. "So don't. You feel good where you are."

"Have to. The video from the bank is coming in this morning. We may get to see who's been sucking money out of Up."

"Much as I hate to admit it, that's a good reason. On three?"

Castle boosted Beckett off his body and they sat up together on the edge of the bed. "Castle, I'm going to get a shower. Why don't you go start the coffee," Beckett said.

"I could join you," Castle offered.

"Not if we're ever going to get out of here this morning," Beckett told him. "Go!"

When Beckett came to the kitchen, showered and dressed, Castle not only had coffee made, but juice poured, an egg mixture for omelets, and turkey bacon in the pan. They switched places as Beckett finished the cooking while Castle got ready.

Beckett and Castle arrived at the 12th just as the bank video did and they watched it with Ryan and Esposito. The time stamp for the transaction of cashing the check was eleven A.M. A woman could be seen on the black and white video wearing a knit hat with ear flaps, large sunglasses, and a shapeless dress.

"I know a TV show with a hat like that," Castle said.

"Castle," Beckett said with feigned annoyance, "you know a TV show with just about anything. Ryan can you put her through facial recognition?"

"With those sunglasses, we probably won't get much, but I can try," Ryan answered."

"Esposito, dig up everything else you can on David Morgan," Beckett ordered.

"On it," Esposito answered.

Beckett called Oscar Garcia and asked him if he had seen a woman at Awake. He said that he had. Beckett pulled a screen capture and she and Castle went to see Garcia. Garcia couldn't tell from the screen capture if the woman at the bank was the woman he had seen at Awake, but he agreed to come down to the 12th and work with a sketch artist.

"We should talk some more to Felicity." Castle said "The person at the front desk sees all and knows all and I happen to know that she'll do anything for a chocolate croissant."

"A chocolate croissant this time of day Castle?" Beckett protested. "It's almost lunchtime."

"Trust me," Castle told her.

Felicity's eyes did light up at the sight of the croissant and the chai Castle brought her to go with it.

"Felicity," Castle asked, "what do you know about Awake?"

"Not much, Mr. Castle."

"You can call me Rick," he told her.

Felicity gave a shy smile. "Rick, I have some of their brochures. I know that David Morgan was promoting them to the Board of Directors. He gave a fancy power point at the quarterly meeting. I saw it because I was there to take notes. I've never met any of their people, though. We sent checks to their office."

"Do you have any of those brochures or a copy of that power point?" Beckett asked.

"I have both," Felicity told her. "I'll get them for you."

Castle gave her his thousand Watt smile. "Thank you Felicity."

Felicity handed Beckett a stack of brochures and a USB drive.

As Beckett drove back to the 12th, Castle studied the brochures. "These are pure bull!" he exclaimed angrily. "They talk about parent training, after school care and even camp. Awake couldn't have been doing any of that. They were ripping Up off."

"It looks to me like Dave Morgan was ripping Up off," Beckett said, "and using Awake to do it. Maggie Burns figured it out..."

"And he killed her." Castle finished.

When Beckett and Castle arrived at the 12th, she sent Ryan and Esposito to bring Morgan in. While they were gone, she and Castle perused the power point presentation. It appeared that Morgan was making an all out effort to convince the Board to divert much of Up's resources to Awake. Beckett could see the anger rising in Castle. She covered his hand with hers. "We'll get the bastard," she assured him.

Beckett asked Castle to watch from observation while she handled the interrogation with Ryan, worried that his anger might get the best of him.

"Mr. Morgan," Beckett said, "you spent a lot of effort convincing the Board of Up to use the services of Awake Institute."

Morgan wiped his face with his handkerchief. "That's not a crime."

"It is when Awake Institute is nothing but a desk and a telephone. That's called fraud."

"I thought they were a wonderful organization," Morgan protested. "If they were committing fraud, I had no idea."

"I think you did, Mr. Morgan. I think that Maggie Burns thought so too and when she told you, you killed her."

"I didn't kill anyone!" Morgan protested, twisting his damp handkerchief in his hands. "I want a lawyer."

"Fine," Beckett agreed. "You can call one before we take you to holding."

"Esposito, get a warrant for Morgan's place," Beckett said. "see if you and Ryan can find the murder weapon."

"On it." Esposito told her.

Beckett saw Castle pulling out his phone. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm going to ask some Up Board members about Awake and Dave Morgan. Don't worry. I'll do it as a concerned contributor. I won't give away anything about the investigation."

"Sounds like a good idea," Beckett agreed. "I'm going to check on the sketch from Oscar Garcia."

Beckett posted the sketch on the murder board. The woman was fairly pretty with wide eyes and a full mouth. Beckett compared the mouth to the one on the screen capture from the bank. They were similar.

"How did you do with the Up Board, Castle," Beckett asked.

"There were a couple of members, parents of disabled kids, who were suspicious. Apparently they got voted down. Most of the Board, people who popped in for three hours a quarter, believed whatever Morgan told them. They hired the guy. I guess they wanted to believe they made a good decision."

Beckett's cell phone beeped with a text. "That's from Esposito," she said. "No murder weapon."

Castle brought a fist down on the desk. Beckett put a hand on his arm. "We've got a lot on Morgan even without the murder weapon, Castle. His lawyer may be able to talk him into some kind of a deal tomorrow. Let's call it a night."

In the kitchen of the loft, Castle boiled salted water for elbow macaroni and melted butter for a roux. He prepared macaroni and cheese, with bacon bits for a salty accent, while Beckett prepared a salad. Castle lit a fire, poured glasses of red wine, and they ate slowly at the counter. After a quick clean up, Castle lounged on the couch, arms around Beckett, nose buried in her cherry scented hair.

"Castle," Beckett said, tracing a pattern on his thigh, "we never had dessert."

"What would you like?" Castle asked.

Beckett twisted in his arms to sit facing him on the edge of the couch. Burying her fingers in his hair, she kissed first his top lip then his bottom lip. "Mmmmm, I think I have it."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Castle pulled a pillow over his head but it was no help. The jackhammers tearing up the street below penetrated the flimsy barrier. Beckett had already swung her feet over the side of the bed to get up. "C'mon Castle," she said. "There's no way you're going to sleep through that."

"Tell me about it," Castle grumbled, sitting up still holding his pillow.

"Maybe we can drown it out," Beckett suggested, heading for the bathroom.

Beckett turned on the double shower full blast and stepped under the spray. Castle joined her. "I can still hear it," he complained.

"Then we'll have to make some noise of our own," Beckett told him. Grabbing a washcloth and warming it under the water, she began to scrub his chest while singing the sultry tones of "Dream a Little Dream of Me."

Using a nylon puff, Castle spread softly scented bubbles over her body as she sang. Face to face they lathered each others' hair, Castle massaging in Beckett's signature cherry scent. They turned each other under the spray as Beckett finished her song, the final note lost in Castle's mouth as he kissed her. They drew together as the water poured over their slick bodies, countering the pounding outside the windows with motion of their own, until the roaring in their ears mixed with the rush of the water and they found release in each others' arms.

Avoiding any more intrusion of the racket from the demolition below, Beckett, Castle, and Martha got out of the loft as quickly as possible, skipping breakfast, Beckett and Castle to the refuge of the 12th and Martha to her school. Beckett and Castle arrived before Ryan and Esposito. Beckett checked on David Morgan, discovering that his lawyer was expected around ten thirty. "You know," Castle told her, "we could go to that little diner with the huge lattes and goat cheese omelets. We'd be back in plenty of time to talk to Morgan." Beckett threaded her arm through his and they walked out together.

As Castle and Beckett approached the diner, Castle spotted Alexis coming out of a used book store next door.

"Alexis," Castle called. "We were just going to have breakfast. Join us!"

"Thanks Dad." Alexis told him. "But I've already had breakfast. I was just making a quick trip to pick up a book they were holding for me. I need to get back uptown for class." Alexis reached into her pockets for her gloves and a packet of crackers fell to the ground. She scooped it up quickly, but not before Castle saw what it was. "Leftovers, from supper last night," Alexis explained hastily. "Trying to watch my money."

Castle looked dumbstruck and just nodded as Alexis hurried away.

Beckett led Castle into the diner and they slid into a booth. "What's the matter, Castle," she asked.

"Throwing up the other night, crackers. I remember this from Meredith. Alexis is pregnant. My daughter is pregnant."

"Castle, you're jumping to conclusions," Beckett soothed. "Alexis had a bug the other night. You caught it from her. Lots of college students stow food in their pockets. I did it myself and I bet you did too."

"I hope you're right," Castle told her, but he was unconvinced. When the waitress came to take their order, his stomach turned at the thought of food and he barely managed coffee.

Beckett and Esposito sat across the table from Morgan and his lawyer Ross Murtry while Castle and Ryan watched from observation.

"Mr. Morgan," Beckett said, "You were at Maggie Burns' apartment. You were fraudulently diverting Up money to Awake Institute. Maggie Burns found out about it. You killed her. It won't be hard to convince a jury that someone who takes money away from disabled kids is a murderer. Tell me what happened and help us find the money and I can put in a good word with the D.A."

"I didn't kill Maggie," Morgan insisted.

"Exactly how do you expect us to believe that?" Esposito asked.

"You searched my client's apartment. You searched his car." Murtry said. "You didn't find a weapon or any forensic evidence of a murder."

"Because he ditched it somewhere," Esposito insisted.

"Where?" Murtry asked. "You have video of him driving away, but there was no blood in the car, even though the Maggie's apartment was covered in it. I got the pictures in discovery. There is no way my client could have committed the murder without getting blood in the car."

Through the mirror, Castle could see Dave Morgan nervously drinking from a bottle of water. He was using his left hand.

Beckett and Esposito came out of the box, meeting Castle and Ryan.

"I hate to say it," Ryan said, but the lawyer has a point. "Morgan may be an embezzler, but how could he have committed the murder and not gotten blood in his car?"

"Maggie's jugular was cut. Did Lanie say from which direction?" Castle mused.

"Why, Castle?" Beckett asked.

"Because from what I've seen, Morgan is left handed. If the cut was left to right, he probably didn't do it."

Esposito hit his speed dial and called Lanie. The cut was left to right.

Castle walked away in disgust. Beckett found him sitting on a desk staring at the murder board. "We've still got him for the embezzling the money from Up, Castle. He didn't even deny it. We'll hand it over to fraud and let them track it down. Meanwhile we still have a murder to solve. I could use one of those crazy ideas of yours."

"I don't know how crazy this is," Castle told her, "but we never did find out if her fiance knew she was pregnant. Once we found out about Morgan, we didn't look at Donnegan or anyone else who might be close to her at all."

"You are right," Beckett agreed, "and that's not crazy at all."

Beckett asked Esposito and Ryan to research Vera Mortisse and anyone else who might have had a relationship to Maggie Burns while she and Castle looked into Roger Donnegan. Donnegan's financials were clean. He was a very successful developer of lofts in the Soho area. His credit cards had low balances and aside from a few parking tickets, he had no record. He maintained an office as well as his own loft in Soho. Beckett and Castle decided to see him at his office on the way back to Castle's loft.

"Mr. Donnegan," Beckett said. "I am so sorry for your loss. I hate to ask at a time like this, but can you think of anything else that might help us? Did Maggie have a problem with anyone?"

"I told you about her suspicions at Up."

"Yes, we've been looking into that. Is there anything else?"

"No. We were getting married in three months and Maggie's friends were helping us plan the ceremony. Everyone was happy for her."

"Do you have contact information for her friends?"

"No. She kept that on her phone. Did you find it?"

"I'll have to check," Beckett answered. Castle knew that was an evasion. Beckett always knew every piece of evidence.

"Mr. Donnegan," Beckett said. "Thank you for your time and if you think of anything, please give me a call." Beckett handed him her card.

"Was there a phone?" Castle asked on the way to the loft.

"No," Beckett answered. "The killer left her purse with her, but there was no phone. Obviously he didn't want us to have it. Also, Donnegan never mentioned she was pregnant. If she was getting married in three months she wouldn't be showing. He might not know, or he might not have wanted anyone else to know."

"Don't even talk about pregnancy to me right now," Castle groaned.

"Sorry," Beckett apologized, "but it may be important. We need to talk to someone who'd know, we can start with her sister."

"We're going to Brooklyn now?" Castle asked.

"In the morning Castle. Right now we're going home."

"We'd better stop for ice cream."

Beckett suppressed a laugh, but a smile peaked out of the corner of her mouth.

"Ice cream it is."

Castle's sundae was a work of art. It had both chocolate and strawberry ice cream, hot fudge, Oreo crumble, gummy bears, whipped cream, and two cherries. Pulling two long spoons out of a drawer he handed one to Beckett, turning the strawberry side of the sundae toward her. Beckett slowly ate her side of the sundae, taking small bites of strawberry ice cream, biting gummy bears in half and popping first the top and then the bottom into he mouth. Castle's spoon stilled in his hand as he watched. Finally Beckett took one of the cherries and licked it free of whipped cream before popping it her mouth. She fed the other one to Castle. As he swallowed the last of it, she licked the sweet Maraschino nectar from his lips.

The sundae forgotten, Castle drew Beckett tightly against his body, sucking the sweetness from her lips as she had his. A key clicked in the front door and they pulled apart. Martha threw a look at the sundae. "You two keep eating like that and you'll have to go on a diet before the wedding," she said, grandly sweeping up the stairs.

"I guess we should put it away," Castle said.

"I guess we should," Beckett agreed.

They dumped the bowl and put it in the dishwasher.

"Wife to be, I think we better work off some calories."

Smiling, Beckett clasped her hands behind his neck. "Absolutely."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The jackhammers were gone but had been replaced by wind. It blew the grit from the previous morning's activities against the windows of the loft with a scratching sound like gremlins trying to find their way in.

Castle stirred restlessly as he dreamed of a child at the door. He wanted to open it, but the floor had turned to a mass of waist high brambles that tore at his legs. He strained painfully but futilely to push his way through it. As he tossed fitfully, blankets were thrown to the floor.

Beckett felt the cold on her body and the movement beside her. "Castle," she called, but he didn't rouse. She sat up, putting her hands on his shoulders. "Castle!" The motion of his body slowly stilled and his lashes lifted.

"Bad dream?" Beckett asked.

Castle ran a hand down his leg where the phantom sting lingered. "Yeah, I haven't had a dream where I could feel it like that since you were shot."

"You had nightmares after I was shot?"

"Kate, when I told I loved you then, I meant it and you pretty much died in my arms. Of course I had nightmares."

Beckett snuggled into his side. "I'm here, I'm fine and so are you," she told him.

Castle pulled her closer, kissing her hair, as she ran her fingertips through the light sprinkling of hair on his chest. Castle drew in a sharp breath. "Beckett..."

"Shhh," she whispered. "just relax."

"I'm not relaxed," Castle told her.

Beckett looked down and smiled. "Yes, I see. We'll have to see what we can do about that." Beckett began at his hairline, kissing across his face, moving to his eyes, the corners of his mouth and finally his lips. Beckett dragged her mouth down his body to where her fingertips had been.

Castle arched "Kate!" Arms around her, Castle rolled Beckett underneath him, covering her searching mouth with his own. They came together, mouths searching, moving faster and harder until there was no where else to taste, no where else to go and the urgency was gone in a surge of sensation.

With Castle's arm around her, Beckett rested her head on his shoulder. "Relaxed now Castle?"

Castle stroked her cheek. "You have no idea."

Beckett and Castle finally arrived at the 12th, coffee cups in hand. Ryan told them that he had heard from the fraud division. Ross Murtry was making noises about a deal for Dave Morgan. They were going to have a meeting about it that afternoon and invited Beckett's group in homicide to sit in, since he had been their collar. Beckett called Vera Mortisse to see if she was available to meet that morning.

"Ms. Mortisse," Beckett said. "We need to find out as much as we can about your sister. We understand that she was to be married in three months and that her friends were helping to plan the wedding. Do you know who her friends were?"

"Her best friend is Monica Mayfair. She's been coordinating everything and she has everyone's contact information."

"Do you have her number?" Beckett asked.

"I can give you her number and her address," Vera responded. Vera brought the information up on her phone and let Beckett copy it."

"Ms. Mortisse," Castle asked, "is there anything else we should know about your sister? Any detail could be important."

Vera gave a sigh that was half sob. "She was pregnant. That's why she and Roger were getting married so soon."

"Thank you very much for your time," Beckett told Vera handing her a card. "Please call if you think of anything, day or night."

As they headed back to the 12th, Castle suggested that they stop at Remy's and pick up burgers and shakes for themselves, Ryan and Esposito, who were very happy to get them. They gathered around a table in the break room to eat and wait until it was time to meet with fraud division. "What do you think Murtry is going to offer?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know," Beckett answered, "we'll find out."

Murtry sat across the table from fraud detective Murray Abrams, Beckett and ADA Toni Gonzalez. Ryan, Esposito , and Castle occupied a row of chairs behind their colleagues.

"Counselor, What is your client offering?" Toni asked.

Murtry passed a picture across the table,"Her."

"That's the woman who received the money at Awake Institute," Beckett said.

"Exactly, Murtry said, "you get her and recover the money, and my client gets one year, suspended."

Castle started to get out of his chair. Ryan and Esposito each put a hand on each of his arms, pushing him back. "Chill bro," Esposito whispered.

Toni looked at Abrams who nodded immediately and Beckett who nodded hesitantly.

"Mr. Murtry, when we have this woman in custody, and if we recover the money, your client will have a deal," Toni told him.

Castle left the room and walked angrily ahead of Beckett who rushed to catch up. "Castle, she called. "Castle!"

Castle turned to face her. "Castle, we'll get the money back for the kids. That's what matters. If we don't get it, Morgan won't get a deal."

"It's not fair, Beckett," Castle protested. "That scumbag shouldn't walk."

"I know Castle, but you've been around here long enough to know that things often aren't fair. We do the best we can."

"I know," Castle told her. "You're right. I just hate this."

Beckett took his hand. "Me too."

"Beckett, do you want to go to the movies tonight?" Castle asked

Beckett gave him a quizzical look. "What brought this on?"

"'2001' is playing at the Angelica. I want to see something that's even harder to understand than this is."

Beckett laughed. "OK Castle, we can do that."

Castle offered his arm as they walked out.

Castle and Beckett returned to the loft. "Feeling better Castle?" Beckett asked.

"Mostly,"Castle answered. "I forgot about the space baby, or whatever that was."

"That was the promise of the future, Castle. That's a good thing."

Castle held Beckett to him, his chin resting on her head. "You're a good thing." Castle took a deep breath. "Mmm, your hair smells like popcorn. I'm getting hungry all over again."

Beckett stepped away, taking his hand. "I think I can do something about that, Castle."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Castle awoke with Beckett beside and strands of her hair against his cheek. He breathed in the smell of popcorn that still clung to her, mixed with hot dogs, jujubes and the ever-present cherries, thinking that it must be the world's greatest meal. Turning toward her, he couldn't resist a little nibble along her collarbone. Eyes still closed she brought her hand to the spot and catching it, he sampled her fingertips as well. Beckett rolled on top of him and took a gentle nip of his shoulder. "Beckett," he murmured, "if you're gonna bite me, you better buy me dinner."

"Tit for tat, Castle," she purred. "Want to start with breakfast?"

"Mmmm," he answered, boosting her body so that their lips met. He was salty and savory and she couldn't get enough. She feasted on him, everywhere, as he stroked her smooth back, finally moving lower to pull her body to join with his. Drinking from each others' lips, Castle twined his fingers in Beckett's hair. She wrapped her legs around him as he filled her and they moved together until no more sensation was possible and they lay replete.

Before going to the 12th, Beckett and Castle paid a visit to Maggie Burns' best friend Monica Mayfair. She invited them into a kitchen filled with bridal magazines and samples of invitations and place cards. "I don't know what to do with all this stuff now that Maggie's dead," she told them, indicating the array. It seems like if I throw it away, I'm throwing her away. I still can't believe she's dead." Monica dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

"Ms. Mayfair, why don't you sit down," Beckett asked gently. Monica sat in a chair next to the kitchen table and Beckett drew up another one so that they sat almost knee to knee.

"Can I get you some water, Ms. Mayfair?" Castle asked. Monica nodded and Castle filled a glass with water and set it on the table near her. She took a couple of sips and cupped her hands around it.

"Ms. Mayfair," Beckett began, "we are trying to find out as much as we can about Maggie Burns to help us catch her killer. I know its hard, but I need to ask you some questions. How were things going between her and her fiance?"

"You think Roger did this?" Monica asked.

"We just have to cover all our bases," Beckett explained.

"Maggie was going to have Roger's baby," Monica said. "She was over the moon. I'm not so sure about Roger. He said he was happy about it, but there was something in his eyes."

"What?" Beckett asked.

"It looked like fear," Monica answered, "Not just nervousness about having a baby, but he looked really afraid."

"Was there anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?" Beckett asked.

"She was looking into something at Up, but she really didn't tell me much about it." Monica daubed at her eyes again. "I was so busy helping her with the wedding."

"Would you have a list of Maggie's friends?" Beckett asked.

"I do," Monica answered."We were all working on the wedding. I'll e-mail it to you."

"Thank you for your help." Beckett told her, handing her a card. "My e-mail is on here but please call me anytime if you think of anything."

Monica just nodded. Beckett and Castle let themselves out.

"Beckett," Castle said as she drove to the 12th, "if that child was a boy, he would have had hemophilia. That would have scared any father."

"The question," Beckett stated, "is how much?"

At the 12th, Beckett asked Ryan to find out what kind of a car Roger Donnegan drove and recheck the video in the kill zone for it.

"Will do," Ryan told her.

When Monica's e-mail came in, she gave half of the names to Esposito to check. Before starting on the other half herself, She called Lanie.

"What do you need, girl?" Lanie asked.

"Lanie, I need to know if Maggie Burns was pregnant with a boy or a girl."

"It was too small to tell by looking," Lanie told her. "Let me check the chromosomes and I'll call you back."

"Thanks, Lanie," Beckett told her.

Beckett started to systematically go through the names on Monica's list. Most of her call went to voice mail, but there were a couple who were willing to talk. One, a nurse named Ruthie Gilchrist was willing to meet at the hospital on her break.

Castle and Beckett sat at a table in the hospital cafeteria with Ruthie. "Nurse Gilchrist, Beckett said, "would you know of any reason why Maggie would not have had her clotting factor?"

Ruthie looked horrified. "No! That was like breathing to her. She never missed. She was very careful. Even with that, she had the problems that hemophiliacs have, she had deep bruising and joint pain. Sometimes it got pretty bad, but she took it in stride."

"How did her fiance take it?" Beckett asked.

"I don't think he was comfortable with it," Ruthie answered. "If he thought she wasn't looking, he'd look at the bruises and cringe. Of course, no one wants to see someone they love suffer."

"Of course," Beckett agreed.

As Beckett and Castle were leaving the hospital, Beckett got a text from Lanie. The child would have been a girl.

Martha was at the loft. The heating system had broken down at her school and she hd canceled classes until it was fixed. In a rare mood of productivity, Hurricane Martha had hit the kitchen, covering it in pots, pans and sauce. "Hello darlings!" she greeted Castle and Beckett as they came through the door. "Dinner is ready."

Castle cast a glance toward the kitchen, "Mother," he said, "always interesting when you cook."

After Castle and Beckett shoveled their way through kitchen when Martha blithely proclaimed that she cooked, she didn't clean up, Castle lit a fire. Castle and Beckett gazed into the flames, taking large sips of glasses of red wine. "I think Mother confuses teaspoons and tablespoons," Castle said, sticking out his tongue. "Salty!"

"I can fix that, Castle," Beckett told him, bringing her lips toward his." She pulled back as the phone rang.

Castle picked up the receiver, saying his name. "Mr. Castle," came a voice on the other end of the phone. "This is Buttons Dutton. Alexis is in the hospital."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Castle practically ran into the side of the cab he hailed to take himself, Beckett, and Martha to the hospital, handing the driver a bunch of bills to hurry. The cabdriver expertly wove through midtown traffic to the emergency entrance and Castle had the door open before the cab stopped. He handed the driver more bills and ran to automatic doors that seemed too slow and down a hallway to where Buttons Dutton was waiting.

Words flowed out of Button's mouth as soon as she saw him. "Mr. Castle, Alexis is still in emergency and they won't tell me anything because I'm not next of kin. She was in so much pain and she was bleeding. I didn't know what to do. I called 911 and they brought her here. Someone should talk to you. I told them you were coming."

Castle took only a second to say a quick thanks to Buttons, before going in search of information. Beckett followed close behind him. Martha put an arm around Buttons and took her to some chairs to sit down.

Castle buttonholed a nurse and told her who he was. "Mr. Castle," Nurse Martin told him,"Dr. Osborne will be out to talk to you in few minutes. Just take a seat in the waiting area."

Beckett took Castle's arm and led him back to where Martha and Buttons were waiting. "Richard, what's going on?" Martha asked.

Castle paced up and down shaking his head. "I don't know. The doctor is supposed to come out here and talk to us."

It seemed like hours to Castle, but in a few minutes a red headed woman in a lab coat emerged from Emergency. "Mr Castle," she called.

Castle ran to her with Beckett at his side and Martha and Buttons close behind. "I'm Richard Castle," he told her.

"I'm Dr. Osborne. I've been treating your daughter Alexis. Can I talk to you privately?"

Castle looked puzzled but nodded. Dr. Osborne led him into a small room off the waiting area. "Mr. Castle, your daughter has what is known as an ectopic pregnancy. That means that the embryo implanted somewhere outside the uterus. In Alexis' case, one of her fallopian tubes. The tube burst. We're taking her to surgery now."

"Is she going to be all right?" Castle asked.

"A condition like this is very serious," Osborne explained, "but we'll do everything we can to take care of her."

Castle stood, eyes welling and shoulders sagging. Osborne patted his arm as she walked away.

As Castle returned to the waiting area, Beckett could see immediately that something was very wrong. She threw her arms around him, holding him close. Castle swallowed. He held her tightly for a moment and then went to explain what Osborne had told him. "Oh Richard!" Martha cried, as she too put arms around him. Buttons sat looking miserable.

In a few minutes a volunteer came to take the group up to another waiting room closer to surgery. Castle alternately paced the floor and sat with one arm around Beckett and one arm around Martha. After a couple of hours, a different doctor, male this time. came to talk to Castle.

"Mr Castle, I'm Dr. Clark. I performed the surgery on your daughter. There was internal bleeding and she lost a lot of blood which we had to replace and we had to remove a fallopian tube. She came through the surgery fine, though. She's been taken to recovery and as soon as she is settled in a room, someone will come to take you to her."

Castle thanked Dr. Clark and began pacing again. Beckett led him to a chair and held his hand until a volunteer showed up to take Castle and the rest of the group to Alexis', room.

It shouldn't have been possible for Alexis to look much paler than she normally was, but she did. Her hair was in tangles on the pillow and there were deep shadows under her eyes. Castle and Martha went directly to the bed, each taking one of Alexis' hands. Beckett and Buttons hung back to let the family in close.

Alexis' lashes slowly lifted and she saw Castle. "Hi Dad."

"Hi yourself," Castle answered. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," Alexis answered, her eyes drifting shut again.

Castle kissed her forehead. "Then go back to sleep. I'll be here."

"I'm going to stay," Castle told Martha, Beckett, and Buttons. "You should all get some rest and I'll call if anything happens."

"I'll stay with you," Beckett told him.

"Beckett, no" Castle protested. "You just got back on the force. You don't have any vacation time and you're in the middle of a murder investigation. I'll be fine." Castle reached out a hand to Beckett and she took it. "Love you," he said.

"I love you too." Beckett answered.

"Richard," Martha said, "I'll be back here in the morning."

"All right Mother," Castle answered. "Now everyone, go get some rest."

Alexis slept until the sun was peeking through the blinds on the windows. Castle had dozed on and off in a chair by her bed and was immediately awake when she opened her eyes.

"Hey Pumpkin," he said.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Alexis told him.

"For what?" Castle asked.

"For being stupid. For being careless. For not believing what I knew was going on."

"Those all sound like family traits," Castle told her. "Unfortunately for you, you come by them honestly. I should probably be the one apologizing. Seriously, I'm just glad you're going to be all right. So is your Gram and Buttons and Beckett."

"I'm lucky to have you all," Alexis said.

Castle gave a lopsided grin. "Yes. You certainly are."

Martha swept into the room in a brightly colored blaze. "You," she told Castle,"Get out of here! We have things to do. Find yourself some coffee and some unhealthy pastry or something."

"Go on Dad," Alexis urged. "You have that 'I need intravenous caffeine' look."

"All right," Castle agreed. "I'll be right back."

As soon as Castle left, Martha pulled a hairbrush out of her purse."How about we get rid of those tangles and you tell me what happened." Martha began gently brushing Alexis' hair.

"Gram, I was on the pill but I stopped because it gave me migraines. So we used.."

"Condoms?" Martha asked.

"Yes," Alexis agreed, but there were a couple of times, you know..."  
"I do remember," Martha told her, "witness your father. It only takes once."

Alexis continued. "I couldn't really believe I was pregnant. I thought I had a bug or something and then I started to bleed and I thought everything was all right but it wasn't."

"You'll be fine," Martha told her, "but I don't know about Buttons or your father. You almost scared both of them to death. Katherine too."

"I know," Alexis said. "I was really lucky to have them here for me. And you too."

"You know it kiddo," Martha told her.

Castle found a Java Hut off the lobby of the hospital and wrapped his hands around a latte as he sat at a small table. As was his writers habit, he listened to conversations coming his way. One was particularly poignant. "We've done MRI's, EEG's, sleeping EEG's. We've tried just about every seizure medication and the ketogenic diet. Thousands and thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours and nothing seems to help. His brain is being slowly destroyed and we can't stop it." The voice sounded familiar and Castle turned his head to look for the source. He saw a sweaty man with a bad comb over. It was Dave Morgan.

Beckett dragged herself into the 12th to be immediately hailed by Ryan. "Where's Castle" he asked.

"Alexis is in the hospital," Beckett told him. "Castle is with her."

"Is she going to be all right?" Ryan persisted.

"I think so," Beckett answered. "Castle's going to keep me updated. What have you got?"

"This is traffic video four blocks from Maggie Burns' apartment during the kill zone. See this car? It's the same make and model as the one Roger Donnegan drives."

"Is there any way to get a plate?" Beckett asked.

"No," Ryan told her. "That's all we have."

Beckett called Esposito over to join them. "Guys, Maggie's phone is missing, she told them. "The killer may have it, or may have dumped it. Set up a search in the area and talk to Tori and see if she can think of anything we can do to locate it. I'm going see if I can figure out what could have kept Maggie from taking her clotting factor."

Beckett called Ruthie Gilchrist and asked if she could talk to her again. Gilchrist was not on shift, so she was willing to come to the 12th. They sat in the interview lounge together. "Nurse Gilchrist, can you take me through what Maggie would do with her clotting factor?"

"Maggie used a factor concentrate. She always had it with her in case of a bleed. She kept some at home and always had some in her purse."

"Who would have known that?" Beckett asked.

"Roger, of course, all her friends, her sister, and probably some of her co-workers. It wasn't a secret."

After the Gilchrist interview, Beckett called Castle. "How's Alexis?" she asked.

"I think she's doing better than I am. Buttons is coming to sit with her in a little while and I think I'll head back to the loft to get a shower and some clean clothes."

"That will make it nicer when I see you," Beckett told him. "Tonight?"

"I think so," Castle said. "I don't think Alexis wants me hanging around that much."

"OK," Beckett told him. "See you then."

Beckett decided to go back to the murder scene to see if there was anything that was missed. Maggie had a special container to cut and dispose of hypodermic needles, which had already been checked by CSU. Right next to it was a container for vials, which was empty, but Beckett saw something peeking out from the edge of a dresser next to the box. It was an empty vial. Beckett took it to Lanie for analysis.

Beckett met Castle at the loft that evening, picking up Chinese food on the way. Castle was very quiet over the food. "What's going on Castle?" Beckett asked.

"I heard a very unexpected conversation today," Castle told her and related what Dave Morgan had said. "I really passed judgment on the guy," Castle said. "because I thought he was stealing from children. But it turns out that he was trying to save a child, his child. I understand being willing to do anything for your child, doing anything for your child. Been there. Done that. What does that make me?"

"Someone who understands more of the story than he did yesterday," Beckett told him, "and someone I love for caring about it."

"I'm not always sure why you do," Castle told her, "But I love you too."

A/N Some of you were a little bit upset with my cliffhanger yesterday. Sorry about that. Now you know. You got an extra long chapter this time as penance.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The loft was quiet. There was no wind or rain against the windows, just the beginning of one of those days where the sun shines in an icy blue sky and the air freezes the noses below it. Beckett cuddled against the warmth of Castle's body under the blankets. It was where she wanted to stay, but the world intruded. She had checked her phone and her alarm would go off soon. There would be no falling back asleep. Castle opened his eyes, instinctively drawing her against him. "What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost seven," Beckett answered.

"How almost?" Castle asked.

"We have ten minutes."

"Mmmmm, better than nothing. Come here."

Combing his fingers through her hair to rest against her scalp, Castle guided Beckett's lips to his. There was no time for gentleness or teasing. They reached deeply, pressing skin against skin. The need grew quickly, like a firestorm fighting against the chill of the day. They were buried in each other, sensation growing with every move, with every touch, until their bodies could no longer sustain it and they were calm, just as the alarm buzzed.

"I should go look in on Alexis," Castle told Beckett as they loaded coffee into their traveling mugs.

"Trust me Castle, she'll feel better about being seen a little later in the morning when she's had a chance to get herself together a little bit. Give it a couple of hours."

When Beckett and Castle reached the 12th, Beckett called Lanie to see if there were any results on the vial.

"Girl, I was just going to call you," Lanie said. "That vial should have been concentrated clotting factor but there was hardly a molecule of it left. Someone had replaced it or diluted it with water."

"Someone wanted Maggie Burns to bleed out quickly," Beckett mused.

"Looks like it," Lanie agreed.

"Did we get any prints on that vial?" Beckett asked

"We got a partial that didn't belong to Maggie Burns, but it's not in the system."

"Thanks Lanie," Beckett said hanging up the phone to give Lanie's report to Castle.

Beckett wrote the additional information on the murder board and she and Castle stared at it together. "His car was in the area. He must have had access to her clotting factor. It had to be Roger Donnegan," Castle surmised.

"I agree," Beckett told him. "But how do we prove it? Any crazy ideas, Castle?"

"Fresh out," Castle told her. "maybe I'll think of something when I go see Alexis."

"I can't think of anything useful to do here right now," Beckett told him. "I'll go with you."

When Beckett and Castle walked into Alexis' room, she seemed glad to see them, but thoughtful. Castle caught her mood immediately. Kissing her on the forehead he asked "What's up, Pumpkin?"

"Dad, Kate, Dr. Clark is talking about letting me go home tomorrow, but the hospital won't send me home if there isn't anyone to take care of me. Buttons has classes and I don't want to mess that up for her. She's taking environmental science and they do a lot of fieldwork. Can I come back to the loft for a little while?

"Of course," Castle answered. "Why would you even think you had to ask?"

"I wanted to ask Kate, too," Alexis murmured softly.

Kate took Alexis' hand in both of hers. "Always."

As Castle and Beckett were about to leave, a nurse came in to draw some of Alexis' blood.

"What's this?" Castle asked.

"Nothing to worry about," the nurse answered, smiling. "Just some tests to make sure she's ready to go home."

Castle flinched as he saw the needle go into Alexis' arm. "Let's go Castle," Beckett said, leading him out of the room. "What's the matter Castle," Beckett asked. "Afraid of needles?"

"No," Castle said. "I was thinking about tests. If you were marrying someone you knew had a genetic disease, wouldn't you get tested to see if you were a carrier also?"

"Yes," Beckett said. "What are you getting at Castle?"

"Do you think Donnegan got tested? How would he feel if it was positive?"

"Let's see if we can find out."

Beckett and Castle sat at a table at the 12th going through bank and credit card records for Roger Donnegan. "Here's something," Castle said. "There's a charge here for Better Care Labs." Castle pulled out his phone. "Better Care Labs. They specialize in genetic testing."

"Let's go see him," Beckett said.

A morning newspaper still lay in front of Donnegan's door. Beckett knocked. "Donnegan, NYPD!" she called. There was no answer. Beckett pounded loudly.

A neighbor came out of the apartment next door. "He's not there," she said. "I saw him leaving with a couple of large suitcases last night."

Beckett called Ryan and Esposito and arranged to get Donnegan's credit cards tagged. TSA was alerted to look for him and a BOLO was put out for his license plate. Castle and Beckett returned to the 12th to wait for news. At 9 P.M., Castle and Beckett were staring blearily at the murder board. "Beckett," Castle said. "He's had 24 hours. He may be long gone by now. This isn't doing any good."

"All right, Castle," she answered. "Let's go home."

Castle checked the refrigerator for anything that would be easy. "You want an omelet or something?" he asked Beckett.

"Whatever you want Castle," she answered distractedly.

Beckett sat on stool at the counter and Castle put a fluffy omelet with some fruit in front of her and sat next to her with a plate of his own. Beckett poked at her food with a fork. "We're going to find him, Beckett." Castle told her. "Here," he coaxed, popping a grape in her mouth.

Beckett bit down, the juice flowing over her bottom lip.

"Got some..." Castle told her and licked the juice away.

Beckett put a grape in Castle's mouth and returned the favor.

"Mmmm," Castle murmured, catching her lips with his before she retreated.

Beckett pulled back. "Don't you want your eggs, Castle?"

"Found something better."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Castle was nervous. Alexis might be coming back to the loft today and he wanted to make sure everything was ready. He sat up in bed with his phone in his hand.. Beckett propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him. "Castle, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to make a shopping list to get things ready for Alexis, but the damn auto-correct keeps making a mess of it. I want jello and Siri keeps writing hello."

Beckett looked at the time on his phone. "Castle, it's five A.M. You're not going shopping now. Give Siri a rest and later you can try some good old paper and pencil. It works really well for Ryan."

"It's worked for me too," Castle said. "I wrote 'In a Hail of Bullets' and 'A Rose for Ever After' in notebooks. Siri usually has me spoiled."

"That's all right, Castle," Beckett said, brushing her fingertips through his hair. "I can spoil you better."

Castle gently kissed her lips. "Show me."

Beckett took the phone from his hand and putting it on the bedside table said, "Turn over Castle." From light strokes through his hair, she moved down his neck and across his shoulders, massaging the tight muscles. Moving her hands down his back, she followed the path they had made with her mouth, featherlight and teasing. As Castle started to rise, she pushed him down again, making circles with her thumbs in the small of his back and following them with her knuckles. Castle moaned in pleasure and frustration, finally rolling over and pulling Beckett to him. Skin to skin, their lips pressed together, tongues searching. Reaching down, Castle cupped the curves below her back, bringing her upward so that they fit together, a perfect joining. Heat and excitement rose from the friction of their motion. Beckett wrapped her glorious legs around his back, bringing him closer still. Her hair splayed on the pillow as his lips and hands found every part of her until at last she threw her arms around him and clung, as the world exploded around them and they fell to earth.

They lay quietly for a few moments, getting their breath. Beckett sighed. "I don't know who spoiled whom," Castle.

"I don't care," Castle said, "but you can do it again any time." He held her until her alarm protested.

Beckett went to the 12th while Castle stayed behind to prepare for Alexis' arrival, making his list, and shopping before leaving later for the hospital.

Beckett was just settling at her desk, when Esposito came over. "Yo, we lucked out. Some unis spotted Donnegan's car outside a motel near La Guardia. It looks like he was getting ready to make a run for it. They're bringing him in now."

Castle paced the halls of the hospital waiting for them to finish the paperwork so he could bring Alexis home. At nineteen, she was still on his health insurance, although at that point he would have just written them a check if it would have made the process go any faster. Finally Alexis was loaded into a wheelchair and he was told they could depart. He grabbed the hospital bag with her belongings and went to get the car, as a volunteer wheeled Alexis to the curb outside the door.

They rode back to the loft in near silence. Normally, Castle would have chatted with Alexis about the details of the case, but he was afraid that under the circumstances, Alexis might find them disturbing.

Castle wanted to carry Alexis up the stairs, but she was only willing to accept the support of his arm to get to her room. "Buttons packed a suitcase for you," Castle told her, indicating a case on a chair. Castle handed Alexis one of the walkie talkies they had used during Beckett's birthday prank. "Anything you need, just call."

Alexis smiled. "Copy that."

Beckett sat across the table in the box from Roger Donnegan. She had deliberately turned the heat up and the room was warm. Beckett put a bottle of water in front of him. "Mr. Donnegan, we have video of a car like yours driving away from Maggie Burns' apartment during the time when she was killed."

Donnegan looked at Beckett coolly. "Lots of people have cars like mine."

"Maggie was killed by someone she knew."

"She knew a lot of people," Donnegan told her. "She was a very outgoing person."

"She was killed by someone who had access to her clotting factor."

Roger wiped the perspiration from his forehead on his sleeve, reached for the bottle of water in front of him and took a drink. "I don't have to tell you anything,"

"Fine," Beckett said, picking up the water bottle with a plastic bag. Detective Esposito will keep you company. Esposito sat, unsmiling, with Donnegan while Beckett went to the lab to get fingerprints from the water bottle. One of Donnegan's prints was a match to the partial from the vial from Maggie Burns' apartment.

Beckett returned to the box. "Stand up, Mr. Donnegan," she said.

Under Esposito's unblinking gaze, Donnegan stood.

"Roger Donnegan," Beckett told him, "You are under arrest for the murder of Maggie Burns."

Beckett let herself into the loft to find Castle with a walkie talkie clipped to his pocket, fixing a dinner tray for Alexis. "How's she doing?" Beckett asked.

"She's doing fine, "Castle replied. "She's got her laptop and she's catching up on her schoolwork. I'm just bringing her some dinner."

"You do have a thing for happy faces, don't you Castle?" Beckett asked, seeing the pattern formed by the bananas in Alexis' jello.

"I like to see people I love smile," Castle answered, heading up the stairs.

When Castle returned from Alexis' room, he cupped Beckett's cheek in his palm. "You're not smiling. Tell me about the case."

"Some unis found Donnegan and brought him in. I got his prints and we got a match to the partial on the vial."

"So why aren't you happier?"

"We had enough for an arrest, but I'm not sure we have enough for a conviction We need a confession and I'm not sure we can get one."

"I'm sure," Castle told her. "You'll figure it out. You always do. So what can I do to make you happy now?"

"How about a drink?"

Castle gave her a mischievous smile and opened a bottle of her favorite red wine. As Beckett relaxed on the couch, Castle brought a cutting board with a block of sharp cheese and a cheese slicer. A moment later, he added a plate with buttery crackers and berries. Castle lit a fire, poured a glass of wine for himself, and put an arm around Beckett, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

Castle left Beckett for a few minutes to retrieve Alexis' tray, but returned to let her lie with her head resting on his chest. Castle combed his fingers through a few strands of her hair. "Feeling better?" he asked.

Beckett stroked the back of his hand. "I thought you'd be taking care of Alexis tonight, But you're taking care of me."

"Always."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

It was early morning and Castle was climbing back into bed for the third time. He had tried to be quiet while checking on Alexis during the course of the night, but this time Beckett stirred. "Shhh," he whispered, stroking her hair. "Go back to sleep."

Beckett opened her eyes. "Alexis?" she asked.

"Fine," Castle answered. "Sound asleep."

"Have I ever told you how much it turns me on to see you as a father?" Beckett asked.

"No, want to tell me now?" Castle quipped.

"Or I could just show you," Beckett answered, putting her arms around his neck.

"Detective Beckett, I am your willing student."

Beckett pulled Castle's t-shirt over his head, brushing the hair off his forehead and smoothing it into place. Holding him tightly to her body she ran her hands up and down the skin of his back while their mouths found each other. They kissed more and more deeply as she touched him everywhere until their bodies drew so closely together that their was no separation. They moved together in frantic need and still she touched, until Castle could barely stand the feel of it, but couldn't bear for her to stop. Still the sensation grew until there was no more containing it and it burst free, leaving them limp in each others' arms.

When Castle and Beckett went in search of coffee, Martha was in the kitchen. "Darlings," she announced, "my students will all be off at auditions today, so I thought I'd spend some time with Alexis. Richard, if you want to spend the day with Katherine, I can take care of things here."

"Are you sure, Mother?" Castle asked, "because I can stay."

"We'll be fine, Richard. You two just do what you do."

Castle smirked. "I thought we just did," he whispered to Beckett who gave him a little punch in the chest.

Castle made breakfast for everyone, including Alexis, before he and Beckett left for the 12th, not trusting the task to his mother. "I'm not really sure what I'm doing next, Castle, Beckett told him as they looked at the murder board. The method and opportunity are solid, but all we have is conjecture for the motive."

"Do you have the results of his genetic testing?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett told him. Those are covered under privacy laws. We'd need a court order."

"You want to go see Judge Markaway?" Castle asked.

"It's worth a shot, Beckett said.

Castle and Beckett told Markaway their theory about Donnegan's fear of having a hemophiliac child.

"That's quite a theory, you two," Markaway told them. "I'm not sure its enough. He's a male. If he has the gene, wouldn't he have the disease himself? Why would he be afraid of it?"

Beckett and Castle looked at each other. Markaway had asked a good question. "Maybe," Castle suggested, "the testing wasn't for Donnegan. The mother had a known genetic defect. Maybe the testing was for the baby."

"That, I can allow you to find out," Markaway told them."If the results are for the baby, they could be pertinent."

Armed with Markaway's order, Castle and Beckett went to Brooklyn, to Better Care Labs. They sat down with the in house geneticist, Dr. Berkline. "Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle," Berkline began, These test results are from chorionic villus sampling. That is a test than can be done to detect genetic abnormalities before amniocentesis is possible. The tests show that the baby was heterozygous for hemophilia. She would have been a carrier, but not symptomatic. But there was something else. There was a mutation in MECP2 gene on the male copy of the X chromosome."

"What does that mean?" Castle asked.

"The child would have had a relatively rare disorder called Rett syndrome. It appears mostly in girls and presents something like autism, but has many physical symptoms as well and tends to be degenerative. She probably would have required round the clock care."

"I know that look, Castle" Beckett said as they were leaving the lab. "What's the matter?"

"As bad as Rett syndrome sounds, why would it make Donnegan kill Maggie? There has to be something to make the story make more sense. How much do we know about his background?"

"Not much," Beckett answered.

While Beckett handled the inevitable piles of paperwork, Castle went over all of Donnegan's financials and credit card information again. He found a stream of small but steady checks to a Christine Holloway in Union New Jersey. An internet search revealed Christine Holloway to be Donnegan's sister. Castle convinced Beckett to make a road trip.

The most noticeable thing about Christine Holloway was how tired she looked She was hesitant to let them in and insisted on talking at the door. Beckett had barely gotten a word out when they were interrupted by a horrific scream and the sound of banging. Christine ran back inside the house. Beckett drew her gun and ran behind her followed by Castle. When Beckett saw the source of the scream, she holstered her gun. A small boy was banging his head against the wall while letting out unearthly wails. Christine picked him up, holding him so he couldn't hurt himself, but the boy sank his teeth into the skin of her arm and twisted. Christine winced, but continued to hold the boy tightly, while rocking her body to calm him down. "I'm sorry," Christine said. "I can't talk right now."

"Is there anything we can do to help you?" Castle asked.

"No," Christine answered, "he'll calm down faster if you leave. Just please go."

For the first half hour of the trip back to New York, neither Castle nor Beckett spoke. Finally Castle did. "Working with Up, I saw some kids with problems, but nothing like that."

"I've never seen anything like that either," Beckett said. "but I think we need to talk to Donnegan again. I'll set it up in the morning."

Returning to the loft, Castle bounded up the stairs to Alexis' room, gathering her to him in a desperate hug.

"Dad, what's that for?" Alexis asked.

"I'm just glad that you're you," Castle told her.

As Castle came down the stairs, Beckett handed him a scotch, a match for the one in her own hand.

Martha gave them a questioning look, but Castle just shook his head.

Heading up the stairs to her room, Martha told them, "I'll just leave you two to whatever is going on. Alexis and I've had dinner. Leftovers are in the fridge."

Beckett and Castle stood, clinging to each other.

A/N Unfortunately I can tell you from personal experience that there are many parents faced with challenges like Christine Holloway's every day. This Thanksgiving, remember to count your blessings.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The sun had yet to rise, but morning was still approaching. They lay together, hands clasped, drawing strength from each others' closeness. Rick needed more. He needed to feel Kate against him, blending her gentle warmth with the heat of his body. He pulled her close. She held him, stroking gently. "I need you so much," Rick whispered.

"I'm here," Kate answered. "Right next to you."  
Rick ran his fingers over her face with the gentlest of touches, breathing the comfort of her special scent.

Kate caressed his face with her hand, just skimming over his lips, finally, tentatively bringing her mouth to his. She only intended to sooth, to comfort, but the heat began to rise in both of them. Rick deepened the kiss and Kate accepted him. It was no longer enough. Searching fingers reached under fabric, pushing it aside. They needed to be together, to feel every inch touching, joining, until it was impossible to tell where he ended and she began. They moved, almost as one, until loving completion let them start the day with a surge of new hope.

The doorbell buzzed as Castle was making breakfast. It was Sara El-Masri. She had come to spend the day with Alexis and help her catch up on some of her classwork. She assured Castle that she and Alexis would be fine if he went to the 12th with Beckett. When Castle took Alexis her breakfast, she instructed him to get out of the loft and leave her to get some work done. Castle gave in and after making sure that Sara knew where everything Alexis could possibly want was, He and Beckett departed.

"I really don't feel good about this," Castle told Beckett. "Leaving Alexis with Mother is one thing, but Sara's never been in the loft before. If anything happens..."

"Relax Castle," Beckett told him. "Sara survived kidnapping, I think she can..." Beckett saw the look on Castle's face and realized that the incident in Paris was the wrong thing to talk about. She clasped his hand. "They'll be fine."

Roger Donnegan sat across from Beckett and Castle in the box.

"We paid a visit to Better Care Labs yesterday," Mr. Donnegan," Beckett started. "Their geneticist was very helpful."

Donnegan visibly blanched. He pressed his hands to the table in an effort to still their trembling.

Beckett continued. "Your daughter would have had Rett Syndrome."

Donnegan clenched his fists, almost drawing blood from his palms.

"We also went to see your sister Christine Holloway – and her son."

"You shouldn't have done that," Donnegan told her. "She has enough trouble."

"Does your nephew have Rett?" Beckett asked.

Donnegan put his head in his hands. "No he answered. Donny has autism. Not the kind you see on TV where a savant reads at lightning speed and solves crimes or breaks codes. The kind where he screams almost 24 hours a day and bangs his head against the wall and bites like a wild animal. I don't know how Christine lives with that, copes with that. I don't know how anyone could. I couldn't. I send her some money so that she can get out, for just a little while. But most of the time there isn't anyone who knows how to take care of Donny, or wants to."

"I don't understand," Castle said. "Your daughter wouldn't have been like that."

"No," Donnegan said. "Rett is different. It might not have been as bad or it might have been worse. It would still means care, 24/7. Maggie had to take constant care of herself as it was. The life she would have had, we would have had. It would have been impossible."

"And she couldn't...?" Beckett asked.

Donnegan shook with anger and sadness. "She wouldn't. She wouldn't listen to reason. She just couldn't see."

"So you killed her," Castle barely whispered.

Shoulders shaking and eyes overflowing, Donnegan sobbed, "yes."

Alexis was feeling better and able to navigate the stairs in relative comfort. Beckett had ordered Chinese to feed Alexis, Sara, and Martha as well as herself and Castle. They all sat around the table, but Castle just poked at his food with a chopstick. Beckett didn't do much better. Finally, Sara excused herself to go back to the dorm at Columbia and Castle retired to his office. "Kate," can I talk to you?" Alexis asked.

"Sure," Beckett agreed, walking up the stairs with Alexis. Alexis sat on her bed and Beckett pulled up a chair.

"Is Dad all right?" Alexis asked.

"This was a bad case for him," Beckett explained. "A man killed his fiancee because she was going to have a handicapped child. Your dad's having a hard time dealing with it. So am I."

"Wow," Alexis replied. "I didn't want to get pregnant, especially with Pi," she hesitated, "gone. But I want kids someday. I know that. And when the doctor told me I lost a fallopian tube, I was really upset. He told me I'd probably be able to have children anyway, but I still feel damaged."

"I understand feeling damaged." Beckett told her "We all are in some way. But we can use it to make ourselves stronger and more understanding. I know you can do that."

Beckett put her arms around Alexis, holding her, and somehow it made both of them feel better.

Castle lay with his head in Beckett's lap. "I thought I was helping doing a few fundraisers with Up," he said. "I was complacent. But the idea that someone would have to live like Christine does, that someone would be so desperate to prevent it that they would commit a murder. There has to be something I can do to make it better."

Beckett gently stroked his hair. "Castle, if anyone can figure out a way, it's you."

With the warm touch of her hand, he believed her.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was Saturday night and The Olde Haunt was had been transformed into an old western saloon. There were swinging doors at the entrance and a garter legged woman lying on top of the piano belting out raunchy ballads. Drinks were served by ladies with plunging necklines and feathers in their hair, some of them Martha's students, as cards were dealt and wheels of fortune spun. Martha was in her glory as the presiding Madame with Alexis as a demure barmaid. The Mayor held court at one table while James Patterson spun stories at another. Donors wrote large checks for scrip to play the games and a chance to catch the eye of Natalie Rhodes and Ellie Monroe. Members of the 12th wandered about in costume, drinking and trying their luck at lower stakes games. Castle sat at a no limit poker table doing his best impression of Maverick with Beckett as his good luck charm. A large banner reading "Respite for Respite" hung over the bar.

Felicity came to Castle's table, her eyes shining. "Mr. Castle, I can't believe you put all this together, and so quickly. The money will really expand Up's 'Give Us A Break' respite program. Now we'll really be able to serve the families with severe needs.'"

Beckett saw Castle's blue eyes darken and took his hand. "I hope so, Felicity," he said. "After what I've seen, I hope so."

Castle was in his element, dealing the cards and schmoozing the guests, but it was beginning to wear on Beckett. She touched his arm and whispered quietly,"Can we take a break?"

"Where?" Castle asked.

Beckett inclined her head toward the trap door to the basement. "How about the office?"

Castle and Beckett went down the stairs together and Castle did his best James Garner. "What seems to be the trouble Ma'am?"

Beckett got into the game. "I have needs, sir. Strong needs. And a handsome, rich, gentleman like yourself," she added, removing his hat and string tie, I think you're just what the doctor ordered."

Castle gave a little bow. "Ma'am, I am at your service."

Beckett pulled off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. Pressing against him, with a hand on either side of his face, she brought her lips to his. Castle eased the low cut gown off her shoulders and taking his lips from hers, kissed the uncovered skin. Beckett pulled at his shirt until it hit the floor. Her dress soon followed. Pens and papers flew from the top of the desk, as the last of Castle's costume was gone and they came together, game forgotten as the need grew to its final surge and satisfaction overcame it.

Beckett and Castle lay on the desk, legs dangling over the edge, breath coming in pants. "I can't believe we have to go back up there," Castle groaned.

"It's your party, Castle," Beckett told him, "and it's for the kids. Tough it out."

"For the kids," Castle agreed.

If anyone noticed that Beckett's lipstick was smeared or Castle's tie was slightly askew when they came up from the basement, it wasn't mentioned, although Lanie, stunning in a bustier, gave Beckett a knowing look and Esposito smirked at Castle.

The festivities lasted well into the wee hours. Castle and Beckett stayed to help with cleanup, fortunately joined by a crew of volunteers and staff from Up. The couple returned to the loft as the sun was rising, and wearily slipped between the sheets.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon. Castle and Beckett opened their eyes almost simultaneously, stretching to get the kinks out.

"Good thing you have the day off," Castle said. "Breakfast?"

"More like lunch, Castle" Beckett told him.

"You want to go somewhere?" Castle asked.

"After last night, Castle are you kidding?"

Castle palmed her cheek and kissed her nose. "I'll go see what we have."

The refrigerator was pretty bare, as shopping time had been sacrificed to preparations for the previous night's festivities, so Beckett and Castle decided to order a pizza. They ate it slowly, with Beckett picking little pieces of sausage off and popping them into Castles mouth as he popped mushrooms into hers. As Beckett snuggled back against Castle's chest, they slowly drank glasses of red wine and stared into the licks of fire dancing behind the screen, high in the wall.

"What did you think of last night?" Castle asked.

Beckett rolled her eyes and poked him with her elbow.

"Not that," Castle said, "the benefit."

"It was a great event, Castle. Everyone had a good time and Up made a lot of money. What's the problem?"

"It just doesn't feel like it's enough," Castle told her. "I feel like there should be more."  
"Any more, Castle, and we would be passed out on the floor. It was great. You can be proud of it."

Castle brought her more tightly to his body and kissed her hair, but continued to stare thoughtfully into the flames.

They finished their lazy day watching a marathon of Temptation Lane and role playing some of the characters' juicier moments. Sleep came easily to Beckett, but Castle was still restless.

Beckett's phone shrilled a five A.M.. She grabbed for it sleepily, to hear Esposito's voice on the other end. "Got it." she said.

Castle opened his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Body," Beckett answered, heading for a quick shower. "Are you coming?"

"No," Castle answered. "There's something I need to do today."

While Beckett showered and dressed, Castle made coffee. He handed her a traveling mug with his signature heart as she headed for the door.

"Talk to you later?" Beckett asked.

"Of course," Castle told her.

Felicity greeted Castle as he came to her desk at Up. "Mr. Castle, so lovely to see you. What can I do for you this morning?"

"Can you direct me to the respite training class?"

"I'll take you. It's in the multipurpose room. Bonnie Dorsett is teaching."

As Felicity ushered Castle into the class, Bonnie greeted him. "Mr. Castle, are you here to observe the class?"

"No," Castle told her. "I'm here to join it. Teach me to help."

Finis

A/N This is it for this story. I plan to survive the mid-season hiatus by writing my way through it and I'll probably be sticking to this universe. Watch for my postings or follow me on twitter CheerfulChemist and I'll let you know whenever something goes up. I am very grateful for all the followings and especially for all the reviews. Happy Thanksgiving! Love, Sally.


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